News Brief

Qatar: Arab Spring Makes Israel-PA Peace More Pressing

Qatar's emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, said on Monday that the Arab Spring revolutions have made a resolution of the Israeli-Arab conflict more pressing.

"We heard in the past that reform (in the Arab world) must wait until a peaceful settlement with Israel is achieved, but everybody should realize that such belief is now unfounded after the Arab Spring revolts," al-Thani told a conference in the Qatari capital.

"The reason is that the Arab Spring has today put Israel in direct confrontation with the Arab people, not only with their rulers. These people will no longer accept that negotiations are the goal in themselves," he added. "Our region will not see peace unless we see a resolution to the Palestinian issue."